Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1887-01-15
ADDRESS, SUBJECT COOPERATION.
DELIVERED AT CHERRY GROVE
GRANGE, JAN. LIST. 1887, BY
A. LEMASTER, MD.

UhAKdE, JAN. Isl. 1905 d
A. LEMASTER, MD.
Worthy Master, Ladies and Gentle.
men My worthy colleagues, who
have been appointed by this time
honored body to elucidate the mer-
its. or dement's of cooperation, are
no doubt far better adapted and
more thoroughly qualified to aglta Q
before your minds the present sub
ject. than he who speaks to you !;
but il you will be kind enough to
pardon my irksome remarks and in
adequate delivery, | will endeavor
to tax your minds for a little while
upon this important subject.
The whole creation preys upon
itself. Every living creature is in
habited; a flea has a thousand in
visible insects that tease him as he
jumps from place to place and re.
venge our quarrels upon him. A very
ordinary microscope reveals to us
that louise is very lousy creature.
Thus it is, as it were, that every no.
BILE creature is the basis and support
of multitudes of his interiors. And
just so it is with the farmers and
laborers. They who are the true
nobility of the land, but by their
isolation and want of cooperation
are fast becoming the slaUes of their
interiors. Political organizations.
manufacturing and railroad corpora
tions, are the three most insidious
detrimental classes, that cooperate
within themselves and by this means
rob the farmer and laborer of his
hard earned but honest gotten dollar;
if they cooperate and make a sue
cess of it, why not wee The way to
fight fire is with fire and monopoly
by monopoly. Look for one moment
into the financial condition OF those
who comprise our United States
Senate, and to those who compose
our different industrial corporations
and you find a class, the majority of
them are thriving mille0ndires. Cast
your eye upon the other hand to the
true source of all wealth, the farmer
and Iaborer, and aohere is the thrift
and aehere are the millionaires I? Echo
answers where?
AS rule the average politician of
the present day, is an individual who
has failed in everything; who is not
capable of managing his own private
affairs in a thrifty manner, but would
like to run and rule the nation. AS
soon as such an individual is elected
to position ofpubllc trust, he seems
to think his obligations to his consti-
tuents ended the day of his election.
Something like the gentleman who
inquired of an old darkey, how bis
master managed to live in such IA
mosquito hole 7" Well, sab de fact
am, at night Mars George am SO
intoxified he don't give a cuss for de
skeeters, and in de morning de skee.
tiers am so intoxlfied they don't give a
cnss for Mars George And in like
manner, many farmers and laborers
become so intoxicated over politics,
at or near election times that they do
not vote for their own or their fellow
laborer's interest, but for the interest
of the politician who generally feels
so intoxicated over has success, that
he does not care cuss for his con-
stituents, but simply seeks to plunge
his hands as deep in the public treas.
ury as possible, never thinking fol
one moment that the stream that
feeds that treasury, is derived from
the drops ofperspiration that trickle
down the honest brows of the hard
handed yeomanry of his country.
The object Of political parties, their
rings and cllques, is to put in noml-
nation men who have never said or
done anything and who never will.
And we the farmers and laborers
elect these very lndividuals-we
elect the tools of the "bosses" and
thereby cat the clubs that break our
own heads. We do this, not because
we differ in views concerning our
own good, or that of our country, but
simply because we have been born
and raised Democrats or Republi.
cans. Is it not time that we lay
aside such party prejudices, that only
have tendency to divide our inter
ests among the Office holders aud
different corporations? No wonder
the county of Berkeley, spends more
than her income and is beginning to
float on the wave of indebtedness.
Is it surprising that our little noun
tain State of West Virginia is year
by year becoming more and more
involved in a State debt, when we
oppose ourown and each others inter
est at the ballot box Why not act
together, and thus by cooperation
place the best men of our class in
position of public trust, men who
will serve their constituents and not
solely themselves and corporations.
We have population of about
81, 900, 900, sixty-five thousand oftbis
number are lawyers, but take a
glance into the legislative halls of
our State and United States and if
you were to take the representative
as a sample of the different profes
sions and occupations of this Union,
you would be led to believe that
there were $4,000, 900 of lawyers and
but 100000 persons of other occu
pations. Do you think this is as it
should bes Why not cooperate and
cling to those who cling to you, aud
thereby put an end to this unholy
struggle for Office. 1t is vain to dis
guise the truth. Tue commissions and
dangers OF our country arose from
the lust of Office. The safety, the